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TES Weekly
December 22 - 29, 2015   

Rabbi's Message
12/22/2015  - 10 Tevet 5776

While I have not yet seen the new Star Wars movie, I am delighted that there is a new chapter. And I plan on going this week, even if I'm not so hard core a fan as to dress as a stormtrooper or as Chewbacca.

And of course there are tons of Jewish connections. Writing in The Forward, Seth Rogovoy tells us that really, the whole premise of Star Wars is Jewish. According to Rogovoy, "the Force" is the spiritual power of good deeds, aka the mitzvot, and Jedi Knights use the Force to do battle with the yetzer hara, or evil inclination, that we all carry inside ourselves. It is hardly a stretch to connect "Jedi" to "yehudi" - Hebrew for "Jew." And, as a linguistic bonus, Rogovoy reminds us that "Yoda," in Hebrew means "one who knows."

And to really drive his point home, Rogovoy quotes President Barack Obama at the White House Hanukah party this year. "All of us come together, along with Jews around the world, to celebrate a band of Maccabees who inspire us even today. They were outnumbered. They were outarmed. And yet they proved that freedom could prevail over tyranny. Hope can triumph over despair. Light can prevail over darkness. That sounds like a description of the new Star Wars movie."

And Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher are Jewish - what more do you need?
 
L'shalom,



Rabbi Joshua Boettiger

Upcoming Services
Friday, December 25
Kaballat Shabbat (lay led), 5:30PM

Saturday, December 26
Shabbat Morning Services (lay led), 10:00AM

Torah Portion for This Week
This week's Torah portion is Vayechi (Genesis 47:28 - 50:26) and the haftarah is I Kings 2:1 - 2:12.
This Week at TES
Member-led Torah Study will resume Tuesday, January 5 at 6:00PM
(Rabbi-led Torah Study
second Tuesday of each month)

Jewish Meditation
will resume Wednesday, January 6 at 8:00AM.

Jewish Meditation at Rose Yoga in Ashland will resume Friday, January 8  at 3:00PM.
Announcements
Office Closure and Year-End Donations
Please note that the TES Office will be closed for the annual winter break from December 24-January 4.

If you are planning to make year-end donations to TES or dues payments (thank you!!), please make sure they are received in the office by no later than December 23, or received in our mail by December 28 for posting to 2015. (Please keep in mind there is no mail service on Dec. 25 or 27.) Any checks received after December 28 will be posted to 2016. Please call the TES office at 541-488-2909 if you have any questions.

Thank you! We appreciate you considering TES in your year-end donations!


Rock of All Ages, a New Year's Eve Community Dance Party, December 31 
featuring Jerry Attrick & The Pacemakers, playing their unique mix of classic rock, funk, jazz, Latin, and Klezmer tunes for all types and ages of dancing feet.
 
(Dave Young, Dennis Freese, Mike Fitch, Jack Hopfinger, Gary Wade and, special guest, Gabe Young)
 
Thursday, Dec. 31st, 8:30pm at TES 
Cost: $10/adults, $5 under 21, Free under 6.
Refreshments available, or BYO.
 
Families with children welcome. Sleeping room available.
co-sponsored by Temple Emek Shalom and Havurah Shir Hadash. 



Lay led Shabbat, December 26, 10:00AM
This Shabbat, Emily Simon & Sasha Borenstein will be leading services.  This time of the year is often complicated for us Jews, because in addition to the "other holiday" that will have occurred the day before, there is often lots going on with family members, who are both near and far.

As you will see from our study of the last parshat of Genesis, Vayehi , it was not so different for our ancestors.  In Genesis  49 - at verses 19-27 Jacob blesses 5 of his children, including  Joseph.  We will explore what these blessings mean, and what they tell us about the complicated characters of  both the person giving the blessing(Jacob) and the child who is receiving it.   If you would like to participate in this exploration of Torah, please join us on Saturday morning from 10am to 12pm.  To give us more time for communal torah study, the prayer service will be  condensed.
 

TES/Havurah Member offers Hebrew Chant Group. Next Meeting is on Sunday, December 27, 2:00-3:30pm, in the Havurah sanctuary
Elizabeth Markell 
completed the Kol Zimra Chant Leader training with Rabbi Shefa Gold in January 2014.  Chant is used as a vehicle for devotional and contemplative practice, for prayer, healing and transformation, alternating times of singing and silence.  Elizabeth says: "The simple repeated phrases offer opportunity for us to open our hearts and deepen in connection with each other and the Divine."  No musical experience is necessary- All voices welcome!  Donations will be gratefully accepted.  Please call or e-mail to let Elizabeth know if you plan to come, and also with any questions. Contact info: 541-778-6155, [email protected].  
 


 
Temple Member Daniel Mark Bar Mitzvah,
January 14, 6:45pm

Daniel writes: "Please mark your calendar, because on Thursday, January 14, 2016 at 6:45 pm
Temple Emek Shalom will be presenting a Musical, Interfaith, Bar Mitzvah.

Everyone is invited to celebrate with Daniel Mark, one of our newest members. This service will be in an alternative format, with Arabic and Spanish mixed into English & Hebrew songs & prayers. The ceremony will include a few peace promoting words about the well-known (yet often misunderstood), historical figures: Yeshua and Muhammad.

Daniel's community service, mitzvah project is in two parts: 1) as a hospice volunteer and 2) preparing for publication of a book he wrote, entitled: "IN ONE SPIRIT: An Interfaith Approach to Peace & Wellbeing" which is based on his 14 years in Israel doing nonprofit work.

Rabbi Joshua, Cantor Bella, Elizabeth on harp, Jordan on guitar and Daniel on baritone ukulele are creating a casual, family friendly, short (around an hour), adult Bar Mitzvah service followed by Middle Eastern snacks and beverages."

Please RSVP directly to Daniel by email: [email protected] or by phone: 541.690.4144


Dane Stewart Bar Mitzvah, January 16, 10:00AM
All are joyfully invited to celebrate Dane's Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, January 16 at 10:00AM with luncheon to follow. Please see invitation below for details, and please RSVP to Simone Steward at [email protected] or 541.621.2288 by January 8.  Dane has been volunteering for Habitat for Humanity and helped build a home for the Salazar family, which will be dedicated on Dec 19th. Dane's mitzvah project led to a $5,000.00 donation to Rogue Valley Habitat for humanity from US Cellular.



Temple Member Sheila Canal Bat Mitzvah,
January 23, 10:00AM

Please join us as Sheila is called to the Torah to become a Bat Mitzvah.

This will be a special day for a special birthday.  A luncheon at the Temple will follow the service.

Please RSVP by January 8 to [email protected] or call 541-482-8467. No gifts please. You may consider a donation to TES.

We look forward to seeing you!
Mel, Sheila and Micah Canal 
  
      
Member News TES members, don't be shy. Please send us your news, accomplishments, joyous events, etc. for us to put in the monthly newsletter to share with the congregation. Please contact Kathy at the office at 541-488-2909 or [email protected].              
      
Honor Family and Friends with a Gift to TES
You can easily and quickly make donations to all funds, to remember and honor family, friends and loved ones. Visit the donation page and see the possibilities. Click here  
Adult Education
Hebrew Classes Return to TES
 
Starting January 25, 2016, the Adult Education Program of Temple Emek Shalom will be offering two Hebrew classes which will meet for ten weeks on Monday evenings.
 
Hebrew 101: 6:00 PM
The goal of this class is to teach non-Hebrew readers the Hebrew consonants and vowels so they can begin to thoughtfully sound out Hebrew words.
 
Hebrew 102: 7:00 PM
This class is geared to peole who know the Hebrew consonants and vowels, but want to gain reading fluency and learn the meanings of Shabbat prayers. Those who have participated in Sasha's previous classes as well as others in the community whose skills match the class goals are welcome to attend this class.
 
Cost:
Hebrew 101: $50 for TES members / $65 for non-members
 
Hebrew 102: By donation for past Hebrew 101 students
                     $25 for new Hebrew students
 
Dates: January 25- March 28, 2016
 
Location: Temple Emek Shalom conference room

Advance registration is required. Please register early with the TES office at (541) 488-2909 or by e-mail to [email protected]. You may pay in advance or at the first class (please bring exact change or check made out to TES), but please do sign up in advance.
     
Social Action Opportunities

Thank You From Maslow Project
"Dear Temple Emek Shalom, As we head into the cold winter months, we are so appreciative of your gift to support Maslow Project's work with homeless youth. With your ongoing support, we are able to provide basic needs supplies, intensive case management and advocacy to over 2,300 homeless children and their family members. This year several exciting new programs have gotten underway, including our Youth Advisory Council that meets bi-weekly to learn leadership skills and work to improve Maslow. Thank you for helping make all this possible!"


Winter is Here and Volunteer Opportunities Abound!

1. The City of Ashland, The Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Church and Temple Emek Shalom partner again for 2015-2016, collaborating once more to host the Winter Homeless Shelter on Winburn Way. Sign up to be a part of this important MITZVAH, by contacting our own 
Sharon Harris:  [email protected].  The Shelter is open on Tuesday and Thursday nights beginning in mid-November and running throughout the Winter 
months.

2. Each year the Ashland Emergency Food Bank  runs on the energies of community members. Local church, synagogue and community members team up in pairs and appear at the Food Bank as 'shopping volunteers'. This is an excellent opportunity to meet folks less fortunate than ourselves, and chat with them as you conduct them on a shopping trip that each family can make once per month. Temple Emek Shalom historically provides this service on TUESDAYS throughout the months of November and December. The shift begins at 9:15 am (9am on your first time to include training) until 12:30 pm. Contact Pat O'Scannell at [email protected] for more information. Teams still needed for December 1,8,15, 22 and 29th. 
 
Yahrzeits for this Week
December 20 - 26, 2015 / 8 - 14 Tevet 5776

Rachel Isser
Bernie Plisskin
Jori Bernhardt Curd
Susan Hamrell
Morris Rosenberg
Rita Manders
Lily Hindawi
Max Raskoff
Russell Marc Cherness
Marge Hohmann
Abraham Fisher
Herman Hopfinger
Herman Empol
Esther Gronke
Rose Kazmin
Abraham Siletsky

Business Sponsors








RogueValleyCounseling.com


Medicare Specialist




Quick Links


Services This Week


Friday, December 25
Kaballat Shabbat
(lay led)
5:30PM

Saturday, December 26
Shabbat Morning Services (lay led), 10:00AM


 
Temple Emek Shalom | 541-488-2909 | http://emekshalom.org
PO Box 1107, Ashland, OR 97520 / 1800 E. Main Street, Ashland